In 160 minutes of soccer played by the Chagrin Falls Girls Soccer Team in the regional round of the OHSAA playoffs, the Tigers did not allow a single goal.
Match photos click here.
In 160 minutes of soccer played by the Chagrin Falls Girls Soccer Team in the regional round of the OHSAA playoffs, the Tigers did not allow a single goal.
This lockdown defense propelled the Tigers to the OHSAA Regional Title and a spot in the Final Four.
First, in the OHSAA Regional Semifinal on Oct. 29 at Twinsburg High School, the Tigers gained momentum by scoring early against the West Branch Warriors.
After taking the early lead, the Tigers played lockdown defense and kept the Warriors off the scoreboard to claim a 1-0 Regional Semifinal victory.
Afterwards, Tigers Head Coach Joe Ciuni talked about the importance of getting the early goal.
“We got the goal early which was huge for us and luckily, we only needed one tonight,” said Ciuni.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard with 33:10 left in the first half when senior forward Abby Coy found the back of the net.
“She was in the right, place right time,” said Ciuni. “She never stopped, always assuming that the ball may fall at her feet and she was there. She took a chance that the goalie might drop it and spill a rebound and she happened to at the moment. Luckily, Abby never stopped moving and was there to knock it in the net for us.”
After getting the early goal, the Tigers defense took over, playing with a high level of intensity and physicality.
“Defensively we played awesome, we needed to dig deep and play with a little bit of heart and a lot of physical intensity out there and we did,” said Ciuni.
After taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, Coach Ciuni said that he knew the Warriors would start off the second half aggressively and with a sense of urgency.
“We knew we needed to dig deep defensively, it was going to be a defensive half, as we knew they were going to put some pressure on us,” Ciuni said.
During the second half, Coach Ciuni explained that tactical adjustments were made in the midfield to focus on strengthening the defensive side of the pitch.
In particular, during the final minutes of the contest, Ciuni switched the Tigers formation back to a 4-5-1.
A 4-5-1 is utilized by soccer coaches as a defensive formation consisting of four defenders on the back line (two center backs, two full backs) five midfielders, and only one forward.
“We went back to a 4-5-1 to kind of hopefully lock down the last seven or eight minutes of the game and not give them any chances to get a shot off,” said Ciuni.
Helping to anchor the Tigers back line and lockdown the Warriors forwards throughout the game was senior Maggie Goss.
Goss said that the Tigers were highly motivated and determined to not let the Warriors find the back of the net.
“I know everyone on the team was super motivated to win this game,” said Goss. “We all wanted to win, and we weren’t going to let any goals in.”
Goss noted that the Tigers excellent chemistry, which the back line developed during the regular season, led to excellent communication on the pitch during the Regional Semifinal contest.
“I think just constant communication with my teammates, telling who’s stepping, who’s got who, and constant motivation throughout the game, and telling each other to keep pushing is really what led us (to victory),” said Goss.
After defeating the Warriors, the Tigers faced the Poland Seminary Bulldogs in the Regional Title Game at Tallmadge High School on Nov. 2.
The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs, 1-0, to claim their spot in the Final Four.
The Tigers scored the only goal of the game on a breakaway goal by Allie Stephenson with 6:51 left in the second half.
For the season, the 13-5-4 Tigers are now 9-0 against Division IV and V teams as they have outscored these opponents, 36-7.
With the Regional Final victory, the Tigers will now play in the OHSAA Division IV State Semifinal Game on November 5th against the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans at Firelands Health Stadium at Perkins High School.
